Who We Are
by InfinityDancer
Summary: 15 year-old Max is nothing like your average teenager. Usual high-school students don't have a past like hers that would rather be forgotten. When the police finally come back for Max, she runs. Can a boy at school named Fang, whom she recently met, help her in some way? Rated T for minor language, violence, and slight sexuality.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Maximum Ride.**

Max POV

I couldn't hear my own steps as I walked down the sidewalk with my headphones in my ears. It was almost seven, but still dark outside, and the only light that illuminated my path was from the streetlights. My gray hoodie didn't provide much warmth, even with it pulled over my ears. My black converse shoes were tattered and torn from being worn out over the summer, making my feet exposed to the air.

Yep, it felt like the first day of high school.

I heard a rumbling coming up from behind me, and turned to see a bus coming down the road. It held some of the other students that would attend school with me, and I hoped and prayed that they would be a little bit decent. I would only know a small portion of them from junior high.

I finally reached the parking lot and walked across it until I found myself facing the front doors. I took a deep breath and turned off my music, but kept the headphones in my ears to make it look like I was still listening to it.

I looked up at the sky, which was beginning to get lighter as the sun came up. I wanted to fly away into it, to leave this all behind.

But I couldn't. I sighed and took a few steps forward, and then pushed open the doors to my nightmare.

* * *

"Oh my gosh. Is this real?" asked my friend, Iggy. He was a real idiot, and always would be, but that didn't bother me too much. I was used to him at this point.

"No, Igs, it's fake. We're in a parallel universe where you're imagining things. Of course it's real," I said, rolling my eyes, then forgetting he was blind, added, "Oh, and I'm rolling my eyes."

He gave me a pointed look. "I'm just trying to make it a little more fun. You don't have to bite my head off."

I laughed. "So where's everyone else? You think they forgot today was the first day back?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Maybe. But in case you've forgotten, we are here earlier than we need to be. And by the way, why are you wearing a hoodie on the first day of school? Don't most other girls wear something stylish to start out with a good reputation?"

I laughed again. "I don't care what other people think."

"Clearly."

"Hey!"

"What?"

"That was mean!"

"You said you didn't care!" he said in defense.

"That doesn't mean you have to say it!" I said back.

He pushed me playfully, and I pushed him back. I had no idea how he even knew what I was wearing, due to his blindness and all. He was strange.

As we waited a while longer, people started to filter in slowly. The hall was crowded with bodies, and it was hard to walk when there was hardly any room.

I turned to Iggy. "What's your first class?"

He thought for a moment. "English."

"Honors?"

"Yep."

I shook my head, not knowing how he made Honors English when he read in braille. I didn't even make it, and I had great vision.

"What about you?" he asked.

I didn't memorize my schedule before the first day of school got here, so I pulled it out of my bag.

"Gym," I said.

The bell rang just then, and I hurried and put my paper back in my bag.

"See ya at lunch, Igs," I yelled to him, because he was being eaten up by a crowd of people.

I could barely see when he smiled back at me and nodded.

**R&R.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Maximum Ride.**

Max POV

The bell finally rang for lunch. I gathered up my things and ran for the door, trying to get out first so that I could avoid the crowded halls.

When I got near the lunchroom, I threw my things in my locker and looked around for Iggy. I found him standing by the doors..

"Hey, Igs," I said.

He sighed without greeting me. "Too bad you haven't got your license yet. We could go to Arby's."

I laughed and hit the back of his head. "Tough up. That mushy school lunch will only poison you, that's all. No biggie."

I walked ahead of him and went inside. We got our lunch and sat down at one of the tables, barely finding a place to sit.

After a few moments of silence, someone came and sat at a seat on the table.

I looked up at Gazzy.

"Gaz! Where the heck have you been? We've been thinking you forgot it was the first day of school!" I said.

He shrugged. "I did until 30 minutes ago. My mom woke me up and I bolted here without shoes," he said, looking down at his bare feet.

"Ew. You know that people walk in the bathroom with the same shoes that they walk back out with? That's nasty," Iggy said.

I snorted. "Sissy."

He looked somewhere in my direction. "Excuse me?"

He started threatening me, but my hearing was drowned out by the most annoying screeching noise. I looked behind me to see what the source of making my ears bleed could possibly be.

A girl, probably in my grade, was sitting behind me at one of the lunch tables. She had blinding red hair, probably artificial, and was wearing the most horrendous clothes. She was laughing at her other redhead friend. I wondered how she got away with that appearance at school.

"Ew," I said flatly.

"Lissa. Queen Bee of the sophomores," said a smooth voice. I looked up to see my friend Nudge.

"'Sup?" Gazzy greeted.

She shrugged. "The only thing up with me right now is the urge to punch Lissa right in her makeup-covered face. She's been in every one of my classes so far. I've had to listen to her terydactyl voice all morning."

Iggy gave her a fake look of sympathy. "Poor baby."

She slapped his shoulder playfully. "If you had to listen to her like that, you would be doing the same thing."

He shrugged. "Maybe."

It surprised me how much I had actually heard of their conversation. I had been watching her every move, watching the way she talked. It was almost disgusting.

I turned away. "I'm done. Anyone else?"

They all nodded and stood up with me. We dumped our trays and walked out of the lunchroom.

On my way out, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I accidentally bumped into someone's shoulder, and when I turned up to make a quick apology, I saw the most mesmerizing sight yet.

Dark black eyes with golden flecks stared back at me. I stared for a moment at his jet-black hair, his dark clothes. He was perfectly olive-skinned, and looked to be about my age.

"Sorry," he muttered, and kept walking. I watched after him for a moment longer, and then quickly shook my head and kept walking.

As the day went on, I couldn't stop thinking about him. It was weird, almost. I wasn't into guys a whole lot. I just hated people. Girls, mostly, but guys bothered me a lot, too. They always had a tendency to hit that annoyance part of me.

Right before bed, I picked up my iPod and began scrolling through my music. I finally settled with Journey, my favorite band, and hit play. I laid my head on my pillow and closed my eyes, letting myself doze off.

My last thoughts were of the boy.

**R&R. Suggestions welcome.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Please R&R. Thanks.**

**I do not own Maximum Ride.**

Max POV

I was running to school, my hair still partly wet, hair tie in my mouth, and my backpack slung over my shoulder, about to fall off. I quickly did my belt up and lifted my backpack higher, beginning to slick my hair back.

I was a pretty good multi-tasker.

I finally reached the doors and quickly pushed them open, running inside and shoving my bag in my locker. The bell rang, and I sighed in relief. I had barely made it.

I walked to the locker room for PE. Quickly dressing in my basketball shorts and T-shirt, I went inside.

About 10 minutes in, we had already done warm-ups, and my coach made an announcement.

"We will be combining with the other class from now on. Your assistant coach is Ms. Anderson. We will be playing basketball."

I heard moans and groans, but I smiled. Basketball was easy for me, as most sports were.

We walked over to the other side of the gym, and I looked around to see who else was in the class.

I choked when I saw her. Lissa of all people had to be there. I groaned, but then saw Nudge. I waved at her, and laughed when I saw the look on her face. Lissa was talking to her friend Brigid, and Nudge looked like she was about to pass out.

When I kept looking around, I saw him. The boy from yesterday.

"Alright class! We're going to be doing drills today, just to see where you all stand. Line up here," Ms. Anderson said.

We all listened to her and lined ourselves up in four groups. I got in the group with Lissa, my friend Angel, and the boy. Figures, right?

"Good luck with her," Angel whispered to me, pointing to Lissa.

I nodded. "Trust me, I know. Who doesn't?"

Ms. Anderson blew the whistle and we all began shooting. The boy went first. He shot it with good technique, but missed. He hit the rim, and it bounced back at us. Angel was next. She shot and missed, hitting the backboard. When she went and grabbed the ball, she picked it up and threw it to Lissa. She caught it awkwardly, nearly dropping it. Laughing slightly, she had totally flirting with the boy a minute before, and it had distracted her. When she stepped up, she turned.

"You know, I pulled a muscle yesterday when I was, um, stretching for today. Why don't you go now?" She turned to give me the ball.

"Oh, well you know what else? You didn't pull your muscle, so shoot the ball," I threw it back to her.

She gasped. "Excuse me?"

I shrugged and put my hands on my hips. "Shoot."

She gave me a murderous look, but nonetheless turned and shot the ball. I heard a few snorts from the other groups nearby when she airballed it, not even throwing it a few feet in front of her.

She shot them dangerous glares, returning to the back of the line and throwing me the ball.

"You're laughing now. Let's just see how great you really are," she said, and put a smug look on her face. I hadn't even been laughing.

I cocked my head at her, and chuckled a bit. "Whatever."

I picked up the ball from the ground, which was where she had poorly thrown it, trying to aim for my face most likely. I stepped up to the line and bounced it three times, and then, positioning myself right, shot.

I swooshed it right in the net.

I heard a few of the guys from the other groups whistle, and I retrieved the ball and threw it to the boy.

"You're up," I said.

He smiled the slightest bit, and I felt my heart flutter. Wait, my heart? Flutter? Something wasn't right.

Lissa was glaring daggers at me, but I chose to ignore her.

"Wow," Angel said quietly. "I would've missed on purpose, because now she's going to be watching you."

I shrugged carelessly. "Oh well."

The bell rang, and we all jogged to the locker rooms to change.

"Hey," I heard as I approached the door.

I turned to see the boy. "Yeah?"

He gave me a dazzling half-smile. "What's your name?"

I examined him for a moment, and then said, "Max. You?"

He turned to walk, not taking his eyes off of me. "You can call me Fang."

**I'll update if I can get 5-10 reviews. Thanks guys.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for reviewing. Please R&R.**

**I do not own Maximum Ride.**

Fang POV

I slung my backpack over my shoulder and put a hand in my pocket, walking into the crowd of people walking out of the school.

"Hey man!" I heard, and turned to see my friend Sam walking toward me. He put his arm around me, narrowly avoiding other people walking by.

"'Sup?" I said. He smiled and kept walking by my side. I was tense. I didn't enjoy it when people touched me.

Sam noticed this, and he quickly let go.

"Sorry. But hey, there's a party at my place tonight. Meet there at 6."

I nodded. "Sure."

He looked at me for a moment and laughed. "Dude, you say that like it's no big deal."

"Is it supposed to be a big deal?" I asked, giving him a weird look.

He threw his arms up. "Are you crazy? I posted a picture on Facebook about it! Do you know how many hot girls are gonna be there? I don't even know half of my followers names!"

I stared at him. "Your point is?"

He rolled his eyes. "Who knows? We might pick up a few chicks. Just be glad that this is happening tonight. This could be the best day of your life!"

I shrugged. I wasn't really into dating much right now. I had much better things to do.

"So you in?" Sam asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'll be there."

He smiled. "Sweet. And hey, do me a favor and bring your Corvette. It'll make my place look a lot cooler."

I laughed mockingly. "My dad would never let me take that thing to a party. He's too afraid of it getting dented."

That didn't matter, though. Sam had already run off, so he hadn't heard my response. He obviously knew I would protest, so he left before I had a choice.

Well, looks like I have a party tonight.

And I was _not _excited about it.

**I won't update until I get 10 reviews. Thanks guys. **


	5. Chapter 5

**I know I didn't get ten reviews. Decided to post this anyway.**

**I do not own Maximum Ride.**

Max POV

"So, are you going tonight?" Nudge asked. Me, Angel, and Nudge were all sitting in my room at my house.

"Go where?" Angel asked.

Nudge snorted. "Sam's party. You seriously didn't know?"

Angel shrugged. "No."

"Nudge, she doesn't have Facebook, remember?" I said. I hardly ever used mine, but the night I did was the time that I saw the picture Sam posted.

"Oh yeah! See, Ange? These are the exact reasons why I tell you to get some social networking sites."

She looked down at her hands. "Oh."

We were all silent after that, but it broke when there was a ring at the doorbell.

"Oh yay. Pizza," I said. We all ran down the stairs and walked toward the door.

"Max! Did you order pizza again? I'm cooking tonight!" my mom called out.

"Which is exactly why I did!" I yelled back.

I opened the door and handed the money to the delivery guy, and then basically slammed the door in his face and ran back upstairs to eat.

"Did you even pay him the right amount?" Nudge asked between bites.

I shrugged. "Probably not, which would explain why he's looking through the living room window," I said, looking through my own bedroom window down to the ground.

I fished through my wallet and grabbed a ten. "Be right back," I said. I ran back down and opened the door, throwing it in his face and then closing the door, just to hear a muffled, "Hey!"

I opened the door back up in annoyance, really wanting my pizza, and looked at him. "Can I help you?"

He stared at me for a moment. "Aren't you Max?" he asked.

I should've listened to my feeling to grab my airsoft gun, but quickly shook the thought out of my head. "Yeah. And you are?"

He smiled a dazzling smile that, of course, only the pizza man could possibly have. "My name's Dylan. I go to school with you. I play on the football team, number eighteen," he kept smiling at me like I should've snapped my fingers in recognition right off the bat, but sadly, I was very blunt, and just kept staring dumbly at him.

He sighed and the grin faded from his face. "Never mind. But see you around," he said and began jogging back to the car.

I shrugged and closed the door. Yeah, next time it was the airsoft gun.

When I came back upstairs, Nudge gave me a confused look. "Did you know him?"

I chuckled sarcastically."He seems to think I do. We apparantly go to the same school together."

She whistled. "Dang. He goes to our school?"

I nodded.

She shook her head."No, he's lying to you. I would've noticed him by now."

Angel laughed. "Are you kidding? That's Dylan Hagen! Quarterback on the football team! He's an angel!" she said and fell back on the bed.

Nudge snorted. "Angel."

I didn't really care who or what he was. The only thing I cared about right now was pizza. I picked up another piece and shoved it in my mouth, chomping it and scrolling on my phone. I didn't pay much attention to the silence, but when it got suspicious, I looked up, just to see Nudge and Angel holding back laughter.

"Wha?" I said through a mouthful. At that they both began laughing hysterically, though I had no idea why.

"Okay," Nudge said when her laughs began dying down. "Let's get ready for that party."

**R&R. No updates until I get another 10 reviews.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm kind of done bribing you guys with reviews. It never works anyway. Thanks though.**

**I do not own Maximum Ride.**

Max POV

I didn't know what to think as we pulled up to Sam's house. It was still dark outside, and the stars were glimmering overhead. For some reason I felt nervous, and I couldn't figure out why.

"Oh my gosh, this is really happening," Nudge said. We walked up to the doorstep and rang the doorbell.

The door swung open immediately, and someone in a black fedora hat yelled and held up a solo cup. We heard cheers from inside, and Nudge gasped.

"I feel famous," she whispered to me.

I shook my head. "It's just a party."

She smiled. "But still!"

We walked inside while everyone kept doing what they had been the moment before, and I walked to the punch bowl.

I looked at Angel. "I hope this isn't spiked."

She shook her head. "Oh no. Sam's parents would never allow such a thing. They're way too strict. See? They're sitting in the kitchen, just to be close by."

She pointed into a doorway, and as I looked in, I saw a blonde woman and a black haired man sitting at the table drinking juice and eating cookies.

I snorted. "Well that's a sight, isn't it?"

Angel nodded. "Definitely unusual. Most parents would be upstairs in their rooms, or else out for the night. I know _my _parents would never want to stay in the house during a high school party."

I nodded, and then focused my attention to other things. I looked at the outfits of people, the dark room, the lights, the booming music, the food, the punch, the dancing, and so on. I sighed, already wishing for my comfortable bed and a peaceful sleep. I wasn't a fun-hater, but it just seemed like these kind of parties had no purpose.

"Smile!" I heard all of a sudden. I used my quick instincts and covered my face, only to result in a flash.

"Hey!" I heard. I looked through my fingers to see a girl with brownish-blonde hair. I think her name was Tess.

"I want a picture for Instagram!" she said. "So smile!"

The flash on her phone went off again, and I quickly covered my face for the second time.

"Come on, Max. You can't take a bad picture," Angel said.

I laughed sarcastically. "Really? Why do you think I'm covering my face?"

Angel rolled her eyes. "Right. Now come on."

I sighed and uncovered my face, trying not to blink at the flash of the camera.

"Great! Thanks!" Tess said, and ran to another group of people.

"Man, she's a little obsessive," Angel said.

I nodded in agreement.

"Well, let's go dance," Angel said.

I shook my head. "Oh, no. I don't dance."

She gave me a look. "Come on, it'll be fun!"

I kept protesting with shakes of my head. "No."

She sighed. "You don't have to dance! You can just stand there and talk. That's what most people are doing anyway."

She grabbed my wrists and drug me into the crowd. I bumped into people and people bumped into me. I wondered how Sam had all this room to throw a party. It was the biggest living room I had ever seen.

"Oh, hey Max!" I heard. I turned to see Sam making his way toward me with a drink in his hand.

"Hi," I replied, speaking loudly over the booming music.

"How do you like the party?" he asked.

I nodded. "It's great! I love the lights!" I said, quickly making something up to make it sound like I was actually paying attention to what was going on around me.

He smiled. "Sweet. I actually picked out the disco colors myself. Kind of the red, blue, yellow, and green type of 80's theme. Glad you like it!"

I nodded, and when neither of us had anything more to say, I acted like I was looking around at everyone.

As I was focusing my attention on people, I spotted dark black hair shining under the lights. I didn't know who it was, but had a pretty good idea it was probably Fang. Only he could have that dark of hair.

"So, you wanna drink?" Sam asked out of the blue.

I turned my head quickly and put on a fake smile. "Sure, thanks."

He walked away toward the snack table, and I folded my arms tightly across my chest. I was starting to get a little twitchy. I managed to get this way around sweaty, party-happy teenagers.

I was about to go sit down when I heard someone call my name. I turned to see Nudge walking to me, followed by Gazzy and Iggy.

"'Sup?" Iggy said with a mischevious smile on his face.

"Not much. Just trying my best to enjoy this party," I replied.

Gazzy shoved me playfully. "It'll get a lot more enjoyable in about five minutes. Speaking of that, hold on," he said, and walked to the middle of the dance floor.

"Hey everybody!" he yelled a loud as he could. A few heads turned his way, and he said, "Outside, you got five minutes!"

People began pushing and shoving.

I turned to Iggy. "What're you guys up to?"

Nudge answered for him. "The usual."

Normally, when a person hears the words, "the usual," it's because they mean that that person is doing the usual thing. But trust me, when it comes to Iggy and Gazzy, the "usual" is not so normal after all.

I began walking, and when I turned to find Nudge, I discovered she got lost in the crowd. I would find her later.

When I reached the door, I bumped into someone hard. I looked up to see who it was, and when my eyes met what they did, I almost jumped.

"Come on," Fang whispered in my ear, just loud enough for me to hear. He grabbed me by the hips and led me forward, gracefully weaving me in and out of people. We finally reached the door and walked out onto the cold grass.

I was buzzing. Why was he holding on to me still?

At that moment he let go and grabbed my hand, leading me away from all the people around us.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked nervously.

He didn't turn to look at me, but said, "To get a better view."

I followed him, not knowing what he meant when he said "view," but decided to think about it later and let him take me anyway.

We got to a ladder on the side of the house, and he began climbing it. I followed after him suspiciously, not knowing why he chose, of all people, _me _to follow him here.

He pulled himself up onto the roof and held out his hand for me to grab. He swiftly pulled me up next to him, and together, we inched our way along the roof until we reached a nook by one of the windows of the upstairs.

He sat down and patted the spot next to him. I hesitated at first, but then cautiously bent down and sat. I made sure not to touch him as I sat there, but he seemed to think otherwise.

I was nearly suffocating when he pulled me in front of him and gently moved my shoulders that my head was against his chest. I was hot with embarassment, but he didn't seem to notice. Why was he doing this?

"Get ready for this," he said, and suddenly, explosions in all colors erupted into the air above us, looking better than the best fireworks on the Fourth of July. I gazed open-mouthed at the scene above, wondering how Iggy and Gazzy managed to do this.

Soon enough, the show was over, and I wished Gazzy would suddenly announce that he had another show ready. It was getting very awkward, but Fang just sat there normally, like everything was perfectly normal to him.

But before I knew it, I was carried out to my car and placed there, all by myself, by strong arms, and fell asleep.

**R&R.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I do not own Maximum Ride.**

Max POV

The next morning I woke up with a throbbing headache. I couldn't really figure out why, seeing how there hadn't been any alcohol at the party the night before. I had only had one half-glass of punch, too.

I walked into the bathroom and took some Tylenol, slowly rubbing my temples and taking a glass of water. I looked at myself in the mirror. The usual morning attire included my worn out grungy tank-top and navy blue short-shorts, along with my hair pulled up in a messy ponytail with pieces flying about everywhere.

I decided to get dressed. It was Saturday, and I hadn't made any real plans.

I walked over to my phone after pulling on jeans and a t-shirt, scrolling through many unread messages that had been sent the night before.

Nudge's included:

_Where are you?_

_Did you leave the party?_

_I hope you didn't take my car._

_Is that you on the roof?_

_WHY THE HECK ARE YOU ON THE ROOF!?_

_ARE YOU WITH FANG?!_

_OH MY GOSH YOU'RE WITH FANG!_

_How do you even know Fang?_

I decided to stop reading the messages right there. She had sent a lot more, but I knew that they would just be the same thing.

I moved to another message I had recieved the night before. It was from an unknown number. I frowned. It read:

_Hey. This is Dylan, the pizza guy. I was wondering if you'd meet me at after school Monday. The commons will do. Thx._

Why would Dylan want to meet me after school? I shrugged it off. That was the least of my worries.

I sat down on the edge of my bed and pondered on last night. Fang Walker had asked me to come to the roof with him, so I did, and he treated me like we had been a couple for months. I barely knew him, and I also wondered why he would choose me, of all people, to join him in his little romanticized get-together on the top of Sam's house.

My phone rang, interrupting my reverie. I quickly answered it.

"Hello?" I said.

"Hey!" Nudge was on the other line. "I was going to the mall today, and Angel is coming with me. You wanna come?"

I groaned. "Are you going anywhere else?"

"Starbucks."

"In the mall?"

"Uh-huh."

I sighed. I hated the mall. I hated watching girls try on clothes, I hated watching couples walk by hand-in-hand, I hated the stupid sparkles _everywhere, _but most of all, I hated the guys that were there. They were awful, no-good freaks who just wanted to take a girl home for the night and dump her the next morning.

I gave in anyway. "Fine."

Nudge squealed. "Yay! I'll be there to pick you up in five minutes. Bye!"

The line cut off. I really didn't want to go, but my Saturday would be boring anyway, so why not?

I threw on a hoodie and picked up my converse, throwing them on and heading out the door to wait for Nudge. My hair was still pulled up in a messy ponytail, but I had smoothed it down a bit with water.

I sat down on the porch and waited. After about two minutes of sitting there alone, being especially bored, I opened my phone and scrolled through my messages. Dang, I had gotten a lot in the past few hours.

One in particular caught my attention. My eyebrows were drawn together as I opened up a mysterious text. It didn't say who it was from, or the number. Is all it had was "No Subject." The other funny thing was that it hadn't been here a moment before.

Cautiously, I clicked on it and began reading.

_Max. Since you're going to the mall, be careful. People are dangerous. Don't ask who this is. Just listen._

I reread the sentences a few more times. It freaked me out a little. Was someone out to hurt me?

I shrugged inwardly. It was probably just some idiot at school who had my number and decided to scare me.

A honking made me look up. Angel waved from Nudge's convertible, and I got up and jogged over to the passenger seat.

Before they could say anything, I was already placing my phone in front of their faces and showing them the message I had recieved.

Nudge laughed after reading it. "Oh, Max! Stop being such a Nervous Nelly! It's probably just some stupid person who meant to send a text to someone else!"

I eyed her. "Someone named Max who is going to the mall at exactly 10:23 a.m.?"

She sighed. "Stop being such a sissy. You'll be fine. Now let's go!"

She slammed on the gas and blasted the radio, and the warm air whipped through our hair as we drove down the highway to the mall.

I might be crazy, but I had a bad feeling about this.

**R&R.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry about the deleted chapter. Here's the replacement. Also, did you kind of catch the hint that the person who sent the text is sort of like the Voice? R&R.**

**I do not own Maximum Ride.**

Max POV

We had been at the mall for about two hours, and nothing had happened. That didn't change the fact that every time someone touched me or glanced at me that I didn't flinch or shrink away.

Finally, we were standing in line at the food court while Nudge was ordering. I was scanning the area for anything suspicious. One question kept reeling through my head: Who sent the text?

"Max? Hello?" I heard faintly. I snapped out of my trance and faced Nudge.

"What do you want to eat?" she said impatiently.

I glanced at the menu, not having decided what I wanted for lunch, so I just said, "Whatever you're having."

She gave me a look. "Maximum Ride wants a salad? What has this world come to?"

I rolled my eyes. "Just get a chicken sandwich and a chocolate chip cookie."

"No Coke?" she eyed me suspiciously.

"You know me too well."

She smiled and turned to finish up the order. I walked over to one of the tables and sat down, followed by Angel and Nudge.

"Wow, Max. What's your deal? You've been all jumpy the whole time we've been here. Are you okay?" Nudge asked.

Angel laughed. "It's probably that stupid text she got earlier."

I didn't really respond, and they both stared at me, obviously waiting for an answer.

"Maybe," I mumbled after a few moments of silence.

They both burst out in laughter. I cracked a small smile, saying nothing.

I looked away for a split second, catching a glimpse of something dark walking by. I immediately knew what it was. I tensed up, hoping he hadn't noticed me.

"What?" I heard Angel whisper.

I gestured behind me. "Fang Walker. He's over there."

Nudge giggled. "He's your mystery man on the roof."

I rolled my eyes. "How could it be a mystery if I knew exactly who it was that brought me up there?"

Nudge shut up for once in her life.

Angel smiled a bit. "He's walking over here."

I sat up straight. "Dammit."

"What? Is that a bad thing?" I heard a deeper voice say. I went on full alert, and looked up to see him standing next to our table with a smirk on his face.

"Oh, hi," I said dumbly. He stared at me for a moment before laughing.

"Hi," he said back. "You look at me like you had no clue I was here. I saw you look at me when I was walking over."

How on earth did he see that?

"Okay," was all I said.

He stood there, waiting for more. I looked over at Nudge and Angel to see them gazing at him like he was a piece of bacon. I could almost hear them swooning. I clenched my teeth in annoyance.

"Fang!" I heard. He turned to look at Sam calling his name. He turned back to us.

"Well, see you around," he waved and jogged over to meet Sam, and I turned to my friends.

"Both of you suck," I said.

They started laughing hysterically, and I shook my head.

I stood up and dumped my food, walking out of the food court. Nudge and Angel walked on either side of me, and we all began to walk across the parking lot outside to the car.

A few people were around, but a group of boys in particular caught my attention. They were bigger, buffer than most. They wore dark clothes and had various tattoos. I began walking a bit faster when I saw them coming towards us.

"Get in the car," I said to Nudge. She didn't object. She must've noticed the men too. Her and Angel jumped in quickly, and I went to get in as well, but one man had already grabbed my wrist.

"Get your hands off of me," I said flatly. He didn't budge.

"Hey, calm down, we just wanted to ask you a few little questions," he said. A few of his friends snickered behind him.

My mind flashed back to the text.

_Be careful._

Right as that thought crossed my mind, I kneed the man in the stomach, bringing my fist up and punching him in the face. He doubled over, holding his jaw where I had struck him. I turned to face the second man, kicking him in the head. I did a butterfly kick to knock out the other two, and then faced the next three men in battle stance.

They didn't step toward me, but rather away. They ran to their motorcycles, kicking them in gear and bolting away from the scene.

I got in the car quickly to see Nudge and Angel staring at me in horror and shock.

"Drive!" I yelled to Nudge. She quickly pressed on the gas and floored it out of the lot.

**R&R.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I do not own Maximum Ride.**

Max POV

My head rested lightly on my pillow as I stared up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Nudge and Angel hadn't really questioned what had happened earlier. Honestly, I had hoped that Nudge would use her blabbermouth to change the subject as we drove home in the tense silence.

As you may be wondering, was there a reason for those men to approach me? Yes. I had a dark and nasty past. I had hoped that everyone and everything related to the childhood incident of mine would disappear and never bother me again, but I shouldn't have put my hopes up.

The incident? Something I refuse to speak of.

My curtain was slightly moved to the side of the window, allowing me to see the cloud-covered sky. They had a tinge of scarlet covering them, making a dim reddish light seep into the room and crawl across the floor. I turned my head and looked out the window, admiring the beautiful color it was.

Suddenly, the clouds began flashing, and the once light scarlet color of the clouds was now a deep, bright red. I pushed myself up with my hands, staring for a moment before pushing myself up and walking to see what was going on.

From the second-floor window that my room rested on, I looked out of it and to the ground.

Cops covered my driveway, pulling out guns, their walkie-talkies strapped to their belts.

I gasped and ran to my closet, pulling on a pair of pants and a jacket. I snatched my cell phone from my nightstand and ran into the hall.

My mother was on a business trip, to my luck. She didn't know about my past, a good thing.

I ran into my sister's room and shook her awake, keeping the lights off. Her room was across the hall from mine, so the lights from the cop cars illuminated her room only the slightest bit.

"Ella," I whispered, nudging her a bit. She groaned and rolled over, taking the covers with her. I sighed and shook her more.

"What, Max?" she said in annoyance. "Get out of my room."

I shook my head, not knowing if she saw me or not. "Ella, there are cops outside."

At the word "cops," she sat up and looked me straight in the face, on full alert.

"Why are they here? Is mom okay?" she asked, a horrified expression covering her face.

I nodded. "She's fine. I talked to her last night. They aren't here for mom. They're here for me."

She looked puzzled. "What did you do?"

I glanced behind me. "We have to hurry. Get up, put some pants on. Quick!" I said, and helped her out of bed. She stumbled forward to her closet and grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. I picked up her jacket from the doorknob, throwing it to her.

"I want some answers," she said, stopping dead in her tracks.

I sighed. "Not now, Ella! We need to leave!"

She stared at me with an expression covering her face that said, "Heck no."

I whimpered desperately. "I'll tell you once we're gone. Just follow me."

She finally gave in after I tugged on her jacket. She ducked behind me in the kitchen as we walked to the back door. The cops had not yet surrounded my house, so we easily snuck outside onto the back lawn.

I began into a sprint across the grass, managing to keep quiet. Ella followed close behind, and we ran into the trees behind my house and away into the forest.

"Max!" I heard. I turned to see her padding toward me through the brush. I huffed in frustration.

"What? We need to keep going!" I said.

She stood her ground. "No. I need answers. Why the hell would the cops be after you?"

I hesitated. I didn't know if I could trust her with such a secret. Yeah, she may have been my sister, but she was also a rumor terrorist.

"I got in a fight yesterday. A bunch of guys at the mall attacked me in the parking lot, and I knocked them unconscious. I drove away from the scene. They're here to arrest me," I said.

Ella was smart, and I prayed that she would buy my story.

"So you're telling me that the cops are outside our house with guns at night because you got in a fight?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

I blinked. "Yeah."

She laughed sarcastically. "Not buying it. You'll have to do better than that to convince me of anything."

I groaned. "Ella! We can't do this right now! So maybe they aren't here because of the fight, so what? They're here for me, isn't that enough?"

"No!" she yelled. I cringed, hoping the cops hadn't heard her. "That is not good enough! I need answers, or else I'm going back to them and telling them where you are. I highly doubt that that's what you want me to do."

I stared at her in disbelief. "You wouldn't."

She nodded. "Unless you give me some answers, I'll march right back to the house and take them to where you are. I hope you can run fast, maybe find somewhere else to hide."

My secret was too valueable to give. I couldn't tell Ella. I needed to protect her. If she knew about my past, she would be in danger. People were out to get me, also in search of answers. If I told Ella, she would be another source to them. She was already in enough danger just by being my sister.

Therefore, I kept my mouth shut.

"Fine," Ella said in a low tone. "If this is what you want, then it's what you get." She turned on her heel and jogged back to the house. I turned as well and bolted out of sight, running as fast as my legs would carry me.

You may also be wondering, just like Ella, what is so bad about my past? What did I do?

I can't say. I don't tell anybody.

I kept running and running, forging my legs forward. I felt tears sting at my eyes at my sister's betrayal, but quickly brushed them away.

I didn't know where I was going, but one thing was for sure-

I couldn't trust anybody.

**R&R.**


	10. Chapter 10

**No worries. I had my storyline in my head. Ella will surprise you, so no need to complain. Thanks for all the support. **

**I do not own Maximum Ride.**

Max POV

I ran for a long time before I approached a road ahead of me. I looked up and down the lane, throwing my hood over my head and walking down the sidewalk, hands in pockets.

The rain was sprinkling a bit, and the clouds were now an ashen grey color. I kept my head facing forward, and then tensed up when I heard a car driving down the road.

I heard the car slow a bit, and I was about ready to begin into a sprint when I heard, "Max?"

I stopped in my tracks and stared in horror ahead of me. The sidewalk looked blankly back at me, welcoming me to use it to make off on a sprint.

I heard a door open, with steps slowly approaching me.

"Are you okay?" Fang asked. Please, Fang. Just go away.

I couldn't put anyone else in danger at this point. So, the typical Maxximum Ride reaction is to run. And that's exactly what I did.

I ran as fast as I could down the walk. I heard steps running behind me, chasing me.

"Go away!" I yelled.

"Not until you tell me if you're okay or not!" he said.

Suddenly, I was tackled to the ground. I gasped as the air was knocked out of me. I threw a punch to his head, and then kneed him in the stomach. He doubled over, clutching his stomach and resting a fist on the grass to steady himself. I prepped to run again, but he chopped my ankles and made me fall over, pinning me to the ground by my wrists so that I couldn't move. I struggled as best I could, but he was too strong.

"Get off of me," I said, looking into his onyx eyes. I admired the golden flecks that seemed to swim around in them like fish inside of a tank.

"No. You're not even close to okay. What's your deal?" he asked. I could hear the strain in his voice from using all of his strength to keep me pinned down.

"I don't have a deal, now get off of me," I said.

"There is something wrong. I drove by your house five minutes ago to see your sister arguing with some cops. What the hell happened?" his face looked worried. I almost told him everything right then and there, but chose to keep my mouth shut.

That didn't last long.

"Why do you even care so much? I mean, first, you take me up to the roof at the party, and you barely even know me, and then second, you have me pinned to the ground like it's totally normal," I said accusingly.

He looked at me for a moment and then said, "Touche. But really, I need answers."

"If I had a nickel for every time I've heard that," I mumbled under my breath as he stood up and brushed off his shirt.

"Seriously, Max. I see you walking down the sidewalk with tattered clothes-," I looked down at my pants, which were ripped and dirty, and my jacket was tattered to pieces, "-and then you stop and don't respond to me when I say your name. Last but not least, you freaking attack me! I think I have the right to know what the hell is wrong with you."

I stared at him for a moment, and then sighed, looking at the ground in front of his feet.

"Fang, I need help," I said quietly.

"Why?" he asked.

I didn't know whether I should even tell him I had a past, nonetheless tell him what it contained of. But I needed somewhere to stay, somewhere the cops couldn't find me. If I went back to school, they would surely be looking for me there. It was Saturday, and I had a week of Spring Break ahead of me, so I only had a week to decide what I was going to do.

I also needed to come up with a really good lie in about ten minutes to convince Fang.

"Fine," I said, meeting his beautiful eyes. "I'll tell you everything. Just let me stay with you for a while."

He nodded. "Okay. My parents are on vacation, and I have to stay and watch my sisters. You can stay with us until then."

I stepped forward without really meaning to and wrapped my arms around him.

"Thank you," my muffled voice said.

He cleared his throat, making a point that I had hugged him long enough. "No need. But we need to get out of here if you have cops after you."

I nodded in agreement. "Right. Cops."

He opened the door for me and I climbed in, and then he climbed in the drivers seat and started down the road.

**It may seem random right now, but writers always have something clever on the way to change your mind. Again, thank you guys for all of your support. **

**R&R**


	11. Chapter 11

**I do not own Maximum Ride.**

Max POV

I sat in a chair in Fang's living room, my knees drawn up to my chest. I had showered, and my hair was still a bit damp, causing chills to run up and down my spine. I had been here since about 7:00 this morning, and it was already 9:00 at night. I had pretty much slept all day.

"You, uh, want some milk?" he asked, clearing his throat to get my attention.

I turned around on the couch to look at him. "I'm lactose intolerant."

He stared at me for a split second, and then shook his head and looked down at his own glass. "Oh. So, water then?"

I laughed a bit. "Just kidding. Milk sounds great."

He laughed in discomfort and began pouring me a glass. I could tell he felt awkward, it was obvious.

"So, how do you know that the police won't find you here?" he asked, walking over and handing me the glass.

I shrugged. "Because if I had stayed at Nudge or Angel's house, they would've found me there. Ella knows about them. I've never talked to her about you."

A puzzled look crossed his face. "Why would your sister even tell them anything?"

I stared at the ground for a moment. "She turned on me. She went back to give my location away."

"Why?" he asked.

I didn't answer him at first, not really wanting to tell him the reason, or else he would ask me questions as to why the cops had come. I still hadn't come up with a lie yet, and he hadn't been too persistent to ask.

"I don't know," I fibbed. I felt awful about all of this. I needed to trust him.

But I couldn't. I didn't know who to trust.

Then again, I was staying in his house. I had obviously trusted him enough to do that.

"I think I need to get to bed," I said. I stood up and began trudging up the stairs.

I heard a chuckle from behind me, and turned to look at him in the kitchen.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I've never met anyone who sleeps as much as you do. You're late for school half of the time," he said.

I stared at him with an incredulous look on my face. No duh!

"And?" I said defensively.

He put his hands up. "No need to claw my eyes out."

I stepped back off of the stairs. "Fine. I'll sit on this end of the couch, you sit on that end. Whoever falls asleep first loses."

He folded his arms. "Challenge excepted. What's the consequence for the loser?"

I laughed inwardly, knowing we were both acting like we were back in elementary school. But come on, you gotta have a little fun here and there.

"Whoever loses gets to cook breakfast, and I promise that you don't want me to be the loser," I warned him, laughing inside at my terrible cooking skills. "You may as well fall asleep first."

He hadn't experienced me in the kitchen yet, so he said, "Perfect deal, because I hate cooking."

So with that, we both sat down on either end of the couch, turning on Netflix and starting our bet.

While we were watching a movie called, _The Hole, _I decided to ask him something that I had been wondering since that night.

"Fang?" I asked.

He grunted, and I guessed that that was his way of answering.

"Why did you take me up to the roof at the party?" I asked.

He was quiet for a while, probably debating between the real answer and the one he was about to make up.

"I got dared to by Iggy," he said.

I rolled my eyes. "Right. I know when people are lying to me, and it sure looks like you are. l'll ask again. Why did you take me up to the roof at Sam's party?"

He laughed half-heartedly. "I'm serious! That's the honest truth!"

I studied him suspiciously. If he was lying, he was doing a pretty good job of covering it up.

Before I could press any further, he interrupted me.

"You need to tell me why the police are after you," he said.

I felt my stomach jump up into my throat. Crap.

I decided to tell him a legit reason, the same one I told Ella.

"Me, Nudge, and Angel got attacked at the mall, so I knocked a few of them out and then we drove away from the scene," I said in one breath.

The look in his eyes told me he didn't believe it.

"Why would the cops be after you if you didn't even start the fight?"

Darn. He was a lot like Ella. How come I never thought of that before I told him?

"Because we drove away from the scene."

"Not buying it."

"Why?"

"Because that's a stupid reason for them to be surrounding your house with guns."

I looked down at my feet. He was good, almost better than me.

"I'm serious," I whispered.

I probably should've made an effort to be even the least bit convincing when I said the last part, because he noticed.

"That's a lie," he said firmly.

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't!" I raised my voice louder. I hated even talking about things related to my past.

We sat in silence for a while before he spoke to me in a quiet voice.

"I could kick you out for not telling me, but that's not how I am. I'll give you until Thursday to spill the dirt. If you choose not to, you get to sleep downstairs with Total for the rest of the week."

My eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Who's Total?"

He chuckled. "My stupid dog who doesn't know his ass from his head."

I started to laugh, probably the hardest I've laughed in a while. I was clutching my sides, nearly falling off of the couch.

"Okay, okay!" I said, trying to kill my giggles. "I'll tell you!"

Once the words left my mouth, I wanted to grasp them out of the air and shove them back inside. The laughter ceased almost instantly.

"Start then," he said.

I shook my head, trying to heal the wounds I had just put in this conversation. "Thursday. Wait until Thursday."

He nodded. "Okay, deal's on, but you _have _to tell me."

I positioned myself back up on the couch, quickly changing the subject. "Let's see who wins this competition."

He tilted his head, clearly trying to state that I would be the one cooking in the morning.

As the hours passed, we remained in silence, only talking when we had movie suggestions.

At about 2:30 in the morning, darkness slipped around me, and my eyes refused to stay open for another second.

**R&R.**


	12. Chapter 12

**I do not own Maximum Ride.**

Max POV

I yawned and shifted a bit, unusually warm. I didn't remember grabbing a blanket the night before, and the couch had seemed a bit softer when I had fallen asleep. Why was it harder now?

I tilted my head to see what on earth I was lying on, if it was the vent and I had rolled off of the bed or what.

My breath stuck in my throat as I realized what it was.

My head was resting against Fang's chest. He had one hand behind his head in a relaxation position, the other around me.

I didn't bother to be quiet about it, either. My immediate reaction to seeing all of this contained of me jumping up as fast as I could and screaming, "What the hell!?"

Fang jumped off of the couch in battle stance, his black hair flying this way and that.

"What's wrong!?" he asked as frantically as I had screamed.

"How the-, what the-, how did this _happen?" _I stuttered in shock.

"How did _what _happen?" he asked firmly. "What are you talking about?"

I ran my hands through my hair, taking deep breaths. _You're fine, it's fine, he doesn't even know, you're okay, you're okay... _These thoughts were running through my mind on overdrive.

"I think I need air," I said in a strained voice. I walked over to the back door and threw myself outside into the cold, crisp air. I hadn't checked to see what time it was, but by the looks of the light, it was about 8:00 a.m.

I heard the door slowly open behind me. I didn't turn to look at him, but I stayed silent and kept sucking in deep breaths.

"Max," he said cautiously.

"What?" I snapped.

I could almost hear him flinch. "Will you _please _tell me what happened, and maybe I can fix it?"

I wanted to scream at him, ask him how any of it even happened in the first place. I kept it down, though. I needed to go over what happened last night.

"Who fell asleep first?" I asked.

I heard him snort. "You did. I got a picture," he held his phone out to me, showing me a picture of me sleeping. I was glad the picture was dark, and I hoped that I hadn't drooled. That would've been humiliating.

Then again, it would've been better than what happened this morning.

I stood in silence, my back still facing Fang.

After a while of standing, I turned to walk back inside. Fang blocked my way.

"Can I please go in?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Tell me why you're so upset."

I watched him for a split-second, and then threw my arms up, resting them on my hips.

"I was sleeping on _top of you. _Your arm was around me!" I said.

I had expected a bigger reaction from him than the one I got.

"What's the big deal? There's no hurt in a little snuggling."

I stared at him open-mouthed. He failed miserably at trying to keep a straight face. He started laughing, and I started to playfully punch him, but put a little more force into it than I should have. He kept laughing and put his arms up to protect himself.

"You... are... a... piece... of... work...," I ground out with every punch, managing to laugh helplessy in between.

We got into the house, and as he was walking backwards still defending himself, he suddenly tripped, attempting to grab me in the process. It didn't work out too well, and I went down with him. He hit the tile, me on top of him.

I moved to get up, but in the process my eyes locked with his. I stared at his face, as he stared back at mine. His onyx eyes sparkled with curiosity, and I studied the way the golden flecks moved to and fro.

I didn't realize how long I had stared. I cleared my throat and stood up, brushing off my shirt and sniffing.

"I'm gonna go shower. I'll fix breakfast when I'm done," I said, not meeting his eyes. I knew he was studying me, watching with intent eyes, I could feel it.

I turned on my heel to go upstairs, but stopped when I heard him speak.

"I can make breakfast. I'll have it ready when you come down."

I stood still, but then shook my head to clear it.

"Okay," I rasped. I quickly jogged upstairs, turning on the shower and soaking in the hot water until it ran out.

I sat in the guest room, staring out the window. I didn't know what happened last night, and don't even get me started on this morning.

I heard a knock at the door, and whipped my head around and jumped.

"Oh, um, come in," I said

A black-haired head poked in the doorway.

"Breakfast is ready," Fang said.

I nodded. "Okay, I'll be down in a minute."

He clasped the door for a second more, as if wanting to say something, but then stepped away. I sighed. I didn't know if it would be too awkward to even be in the same room together.

As I went through my thoughts, he poked his head back in.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked, bouncing slightly on his feet.

I shook my head up and down vigorously. "Of course."

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him, though I didn't know why. He sat down on the bed, and I remained in my chair.

"This isn't going to be-_ weird, _anymore, is it?" he asked, gesturing around to who knows what.

"No, no no no. Why would it be?" I asked, acting as though I was completely oblivious to the concept he was trying to give me.

He sighed. "Don't act like you don't know."

I sighed as well. "We don't have to make it weird."

He watched me for a moment, and I suddenly felt exposed. I shifted uncomfortably and looked away from him.

Suddenly, he moved from the bed and kneeled in front of me. I shivered, a bit nervous as to what he was up to.

"You know, I feel the exact same way you do," he said, looking deeply into my eyes.

I didn't know what he was talking about at all. I simply stared, the typical Max Ride thing to do.

He laughed hopelessly and looked down at the ground, then back up at me.

"You wanna know why I brought you up to the roof at Sam's party?" he asked quietly.

I shrugged.

"Because I wanted to spend the night with you, watch the fireworks," he said.

I glanced blankly at his intent stare.

"Last night? That wasn't a mistake."

I didn't have any words. I was, for probably the first time in my life, speechless.

"Max, I noticed you from day one. The first time I saw you- well, it just felt- _right."_

We locked eyes for the shortest while. Time slowed as he leaned in slowly, as if scared. I stayed absolutely still. I was positive that I could have been mistaked for a statue.

I felt chills run down my spine as his lips brushed mine, and I felt my eyes flutter shut. He pulled away for a second, hesitating.

After a moment, it seemed as though he found his confidence. He leaned in slightly faster now, pressing his lips to mine. I sucked in his sweet scent, filling it up in my nostrils. He gently placed a hand on the side of my head, adjusting his head to make the kiss deeper.

After a while of this, I pulled away for air.

Our foreheads rested against each other, and I heard Fang whisper in a very hushed voice.

"Is this too soon?" he asked.

I shook my head and kissed him again, feeling him smile beneath my lips.


	13. Chapter 13

**This chapter gets violent and intimate. I wouldn't suggest any of you young readers to read this one. Thanks for all the support. **

**And to all of you Fax terrorists, here you go.**

**I do not own Maximum Ride.**

Max POV

"Max! Wake up!" I heard faintly. I opened my eyes and looked frantically into the dark at Fang. He was shaking me violently, and I was still screaming as I shot up. I clutched my head, my voice getting raw.

"Max! Max!" he yelled, and I finally began to quiet down.

"What's your problem?" he asked with a look of fright and worry on his face. His hair was tousled from sleeping on it, and by the tired look in his eyes, it was very early in the morning.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I said, breathing heavily and wiping the sweat from my brow.

He shook his head and sat back, running his hands through his hair. "By the way you sounded, I thought someone was kidnapping you or something," he said. His voice was a bit shaky, and I felt bad about startling him so much.

"Bad dream I guess. That's all," I said.

He nodded and stood up. "I didn't think it was possible for someone to scream that loud. I could hear you from down the hall, and my door was closed."

"Sorry," I mumbled again.

"It's okay," he said, and turned to leave.

"Fang?" I said quietly.

He turned to face me. "Yeah?"

"Could you, um, stay in here? Just for tonight," I said, immediately regretting it when the words escaped my mouth.

"Yeah, sure," he said. I had expected his reaction to be bigger than it was, maybe awkward. It wasn't though, and he sat next to me on the bed. I laid down on his chest, closing my eyes and taking deep breaths to calm my breathing.

Sooner than I had expected, Thursday morning arrived.

We were a few cities away from the normal one, so that the police wouldn't be able to find me here. We sat outside of an ice cream shop at a table, licking our cones and enjoying the warm day outside.

"So why were you screaming last night?" Fang asked. "Nightmare?"

I hesitated. "I don't know."

He studied my face for a moment before saying, "You know where liars go."

I snorted and looked at the passing people on the sidewalk. "Me lying doesn't really matter, seeing how I'm already going to hell."

"Why would you go to hell?" he asked. "You don't seem like that bad of a person."

I shook my head. "Trust me. The things you don't know are better unheard."

He chuckled. "Too bad for that. I want to know why the police are after you. Today's the deadline."

I froze. I had completely forgotten that today was Thursday, and I hadn't even come up with an excuse.

"Can we wait until later?" I asked quickly. "I don't really want to talk about it right now."

He shrugged. "You've got until 11:59 tonight to spill the beans."

I nodded. "Okidoki."

We finished our ice cream and got up.

"Hey, there's an amusement park down the street if you want to go there, catch some rides," Fang suggested.

I nodded. I loved to go to amusement parks.

We walked down the street, and I could see that the sun was going to go down soon. I checked my watch, and saw that it was 7:30.

Crap. I didn't have too long to think about my lie.

"Wanna get on the ferris wheel?" he asked me.

"Sure," I said. I secretely wanted to go on a few rollercoasters first, but I wasn't going to spoil my chance to be alone with Fang for a while.

We weren't in line for long. The man quickly ushered us forward and into one of the baskets.

I took a seat next to Fang and closed the small door. He leaned back and slung his arm across the back of the basket behind me and slouched down.

"Feels good out here," he said as he sighed a long sigh. I laughed slightly and looked up at the sky.

"Yeah. It does."

Suddenly, the car lurched, and then began lifting us into the air.

We were silent for a while before Fang spoke again.

"So when are you going to tell me about the police?" he asked with a smirk. I stiffened and looked at him.

"I said to wait until later."

He smiled. "It is later. Why do you keep stalling?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Once I tell you, you're going to think of me as a different person."

A puzzled look crossed his face. "Why would I possibly think of you differently?"

I shook my head. "Because this is something that will do it."

He leaned forward. "I would never think of you in any other way than I already do. Nothing you say will ever change that."

I laughed half-heartedly. "This will."

He looked me sternly in the face. "Max. Didn't you hear me? Nothing will change the way I think of you."

"I'm telling you-," I was interrupted by his lips. The familiar feeling of the first time he kissed me came rushing back all at once. I put my hand behind his head and leaned into the kiss to deepen it.

I groaned helplessly. I loved him, even though he was the boy I had seen in the hall not too long ago. He was the boy who had took me up to the roof that night, daring to start something with me.

I loved him, and there was nothing I could really do about it.

* * *

We were back at the house, and I had my head against Fang's shoulder. We were watching TV, and I looked at the clock next on the table by the couch.

11:23.

Oh no.

I looked up at Fang to see him smirking. He must've noticed me checking the time.

I sighed. "I'm so not ready to tell you."

He laughed. "And why not?"

I shrugged. "Because I swear this will change the way you look at me."

He sighed. "It won't. I don't care what you did. I just care that you are who you are now."

I wanted to wrap my arms around him and kiss him forever, but I knew I couldn't do that. He was the sweetest, most caring person I had ever met, and I didn't know how I couldn't trust him at this point. There was just something about him that made me trust him.

I decided that I needed to tell him.

"Can we go somewhere else? Like, away from the doors and windows?" I asked.

He nodded. "My room is high up, away from doors."

We both got up and followed him up to his room. I sat down on the edge of the bed and he sat in the chair next to it.

"Are you sure you're ready?" he asked quietly. "I was joking when I said I was going to make you sleep with Total."

I nodded quickly. "I know. I feel like I have to tell you."

"You don't," he said again.

I shook my head at him. "I will. I need to tell someone. I've kept it hidden for too long."

He obliged without further comment. I ran through every event in my head of my childhood, of everything that had happened when I was younger.

* * *

_"This is amazing!" 10-year old Max yelled over the roar of the engine. The boy next to her, named Ari, smiled. He was her age, with brown hair and blue eyes. _

_"Yes it is. I told you that it was! This'll be great!" he said._

_Max smiled as the boy pulled his motorcycle outside of an apartment building. She pulled her bandana off and jumped down, following the Ari inside._

_When they got there, many other people were there also. They wore dark clothes, had tattoos and piercings. Max took in their appearance slowly, a bit disturbed by the way they looked. Ari stopped about ten feet in front of them._

_"I told you kid. You weren't supposed to bring company. If she knows anything, we'll have to kill her," the tallest boy said. He had scruffy hair and stubbles on his chin. Max's eyes widened. Had she heard right?_

_"Don't worry. I picked her up along the way. She could help us," Ari ssaid. _

_The tall one grunted. "Is this the one that brought in all that money?"_

_Ari smiled. "Indeed. Thank her for all the supplies."_

_Max looked back and forth from the boys. The others stood in the back as if ready for something. She cautiously began to step back in fright. _

_Events began reeling through her mind. Her, stealing money from her parents' bank deposit, following the exact instructions that Ari, whom she had trusted, told her to do. Him, telling her that it was for a good cause, that her parents had given instructions to do so. Max being too naive to understand. Her parents getting a divorce, thinking that the other was taking the money. All they cared about was money._

_"Wait... Supplies for what?" Max squeaked._

_The tall boy laughed. "Oh, that's none of your concern."_

_The others laughed as well._

_"Do you have the rest of the money we need?" the tall boy asked._

_Ari smirked. "What money? The ten-grand? That's not yours."_

_For a boy so young, he sure was smart. _

_"What do you mean it's not mine? Of course it is!" the older one exclaimed._

_Ari shook his head. "No. The deal was that if I used her to get into her rich parents' bank account that I would get the remaining amount. None of it was yours."_

_The tall one stood in shock. "I don't want to hurt you, but if I have to, then I will."_

_Ari snickered. "I'm not scared of you. You wouldn't even touch me. I'm the most important thing you've got."_

_The older boy looked as though he was about to explode. Out of nowhere, he pulled out a gun and pointed it directly at the Ari's forehead._

_"Hand it over!"_

_"Never!"_

_"Do it!"_

_"No!"_

_Time seemed to stop as a shot was fired, and Max screamed in terror as the lifeless body of Ari fell to the ground limply._

_Yells from around the room became deafening. _

_"You idiot!"_

_"You just killed a kid!"_

_"Do you know how much trouble we'll be in?"_

_"Oh hell!"_

_Then came silence as everyone stared. It was as if time was frozen, as if everyone mentally debated on what to do next._

_Guns were pulled, everyone pointing it it at each other. Max had a few pointed at herself, and she covered her eyes with her hands, trying her best to keep the tears inside._

_A slight beeping noise made everyone look at a guy with shaggy brown hair and a long beard. A device sat in front of him. It hadn't been there the moment before._

_He looked up. "I didn't want to do this. The only way I would was if it came down to it," he said. He had a small button in his hand, ready to press._

_"Garvey, turn that thing off, or you'll kill everyone in this room," the tall boy said._

_Max looked back and forth in confusion. Was that- a _bomb?

_At that moment, she knew what she had to do. She needed to escape._

_Without thinking, Max picked up a gun from the floor and ran. She had been trained by Ari how to fight and use weapons, so when the men began chasing her, she turned and shot at them. Her dead on aim hit them perfectly, and she kept running._

_After she hit everyone that had been chasing her, she stopped and looked straight into the parking garage beneath the apartment complex._

_Her heart sank._

_A few moments before, the man with the bomb had been trying to deactivate it, but Max had shot at everything in sight. He now laid on the ground, and the bomb ticked to the last few seconds._

* * *

"Wow," Fang whispered, not making eye contact with me after I had finished. I shook my head, staring at the ground. We didn't speak for a moment, and I kept along with my story.

"It awful, terrible. I can still hear the explosions that were caused, caused by me," tears escaped from my eyes, and I wanted to wipe them away, but I couldn't move, couldn't do anything at _all._

Fang moved in front of me, kneeling down in front of the bed. He grabbed both of my hands, wiping a tear that had been making its way down my cheek.

I decided to continue. "I stood up and ran. I ran for what felt like ages. I had broken bones, but I didn't care. I ran. I had just killed so many people in that apartment building. I had caused one of the most tragic explosions. Every time I watched the news, every time I saw the people surrounding the scene, holding candles, crying, wailing, I turned away. Just like that. I've tried my best to forget it all," at this point, my tears woldn't stop from falling.

"It's not your fault," Fang whispered.

Well, that was probably the dumbest thing I had heard all day.

"How is it not my fault?" I asked.

He shook his head. "You were only trying to protect yourself. You trusted Ari. You thought he was your friend, and that he was helping you. You didn't know that your parents hadn't actually said any of that. You were young and reckless."

I stared him in the eyes for a moment.

"Fang, this was all my fault! Every single thing about it-," I was cut off by his lips on mine. I closed my eyes and breathed in heavily, taking in the scent of him. This wasn't the first time he had interrupted me with a kiss. I definitely wasn't complaining.

He stood up and pushed me back onto the bed slowly. I tangled my hands in his hair, kissing him deeply. He moved his hands to my hips, pulling me closer to him.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him, tasting the lemon scent that covered his skin. I suddenly felt a tug at the hem of my shirt, and we both froze. I slowly removed my lips from his, looking closely into his eyes.

My heart thumped against my chest, and I could feel every breath of his, which mixed with mine.

At that moment, a thought went through my head.

I didn't know where this was going, nor did I care. So maybe it was soon in our relationship, but who cares?

I kissed him again and grabbed his shirt, pulling it over his head. He pulled mine off in response, throwing it to the floor. He pushed me back down on the bed, and I once again tangled my hands in his hair. He kissed my neck, and I clutched his beltloops.

I loved Fang. I was utterly, unmistakably in love with him.

**Sorry if there are any errors. To the Fax world: You are very welcome. R&R.**


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